[At the same time]

The group stood at the crossroads, uncertainty hanging thick in the air. Ryu broke the silence first, pointing down the left path. “Pretty sure it’s this way. The ice cream lady… she slipped me the directions.”

Kai blinked. “Wait—you asked her?”

“Discreetly,” Ryu muttered, as if defending himself.

No one argued. With nothing else to go on, they followed him. The narrow street opened into a yard with a house at the end—a beautiful exterior, though its garden was wild and weeds tangled at the edges.

“Looks like it,” Sebiki murmured, her tone cautious.

They pushed open the front gate, moving slowly. When they reached the porch, Himeko’s sharp eyes caught the detail first. “Slippers,” she whispered.

Three pairs sat neatly outside the door.

Kai leaned closer to Ryu, lowering his voice. “Someone’s already inside.”

Ryu glanced around nervously, then back at him. “So… what do you want me to do? Knock?”

Nobody answered right away. Their eyes flicked between one another, the door, the slippers, back to each other again. The silence stretched until Himeko finally let out a quiet breath.

“Should we go in?” she asked.

Sebiki gave a firm nod. “We’ve come too far to back out now. Just… no mistakes.”

Before Kai could stop her, Himeko reached for the door. The wood slid open with a soft creak. They slipped inside one by one, hearts pounding.

Shoes came off quickly, clutched in their hands so they wouldn’t squeak on the floorboards. Every breath felt too loud. But the old planks stayed mercifully silent as they stepped deeper into the house, nerves stretched tight with every step.

[In the dark area, at the same time]

Kavei stirred, groaning softly as he blinked into the void. Nothing. Darkness pressed in on all sides. His first instinct was to raise his wrist. The faint glow of his watch told him one thing: time had passed, but not how long.

“Damn it… can’t see a thing,” he muttered.

He reached out, fingertips dragging along cold cement until they caught on something. Plastic. A plug board. Hope flared, and he slammed his palm against it.

Click.

A weak buzz, then light sputtered to life overhead. The room shivered with pale yellow glow, revealing nothing but bare walls. In front of him—just a dead slab of cement.

Kavei drew a shaky breath, about to curse, when a sudden trickle slid down his temple. He wiped at it with his fingers, pulling them back red. Blood.

“Tch… right. That fall.” His voice was tight, remembering the sickening hit.

Turning slowly, he spotted the pile of sacks in the corner, slumped haphazardly. Realization hit: he must have tried climbing over them in the dark, only to slip and slam into the wall. His head throbbed with the memory.

He pressed a hand against the wall for balance, vision swimming. “What… is this place?”

The silence pressed harder than the dark ever did. His throat tightened. Against his better judgment, he called out.

“Benio-nii? Miyasi-nee? Saira-nee? Can you hear me?” His voice cracked slightly, echoing back at him.

Nothing.

Kavei swallowed, tried again louder. “Where are you?! Where the hell am I?!”

His words bounced off the walls, mocking him. No footsteps, no answer—only his own breathing, shallow and uneven, filling the empty room.

“Hey, Benio. What a coincidence,” Miyasi’s voice broke the silence as she stepped into the corridor. “We just finished checking the rooms at the end. Nothing.”

Benio rubbed his temple, sounding more irritated than surprised. “I went through the second room three times. Walls, mats, even the beams. Nothing.”

Saira let out a long sigh, her shoulders sagging. “So it’s all dead ends.”

Miyasi shot her a look, trying to keep the mood from sinking further. “Not exactly. We still have three rooms left. One on the left, two on the right. Don’t start giving up yet.”

From behind the staircase wall, Kai and the others watched in silence. Sebiki leaned close and whispered, “Hey… aren’t those Kavei-kun’s senior friends?”

Kai nodded, his eyes fixed on the group. “Yeah. That’s them.”

Himeko stifled a laugh. “So they actually came today. What are the chances?” She smirked, then nudged Sebiki. “Do we catch them now?”

A light thwack landed on her head.

“Hey!” Himeko hissed, glaring at Sebiki.

She gave her a flat look. “That was gentle. I’d have hit harder if we weren’t trying to stay hidden.”

“What?” she blinked in confusion.

Sebiki pinched the bridge of her nose. “Himeko-chan, listen. We’re not here to play spy cops and drag them out. We’re here to use their leads. Outsmart them. Get closer to the culprit before they do.”

She tilted her head, unconvinced. “…Huh?”

Ryu cut in, voice low. “We don’t have to catch the culprit. We just need to prove to Kavei that we know who it is—before he figures it out himself.”

“But Kavei-kun’s a detective,” Himeko reminded her flatly.

Sebiki’s expression hardened. “Exactly why we’re here, stupid. We are following a detective's leads.”

Their hushed bickering died down when they noticed movement in the hallway. Miyasi turned to Benio, her brow creasing. “By the way, where is Kavei? Shouldn’t he be out by now?”

Benio’s lips pressed into a thin line. “…Yeah. He should. Strange.”

“Maybe he’s still searching one of the rooms,” Saira offered, though her voice wavered with unease. “We’ll check.”

They moved together, sliding doors open one after another. Each room came up empty. Panic started to creep in.

“What the—do people just vanish in rooms now?” Saira blurted, chewing on her nails nervously.

“Wait.” Miyasi’s sharp eyes locked on the balcony ahead. Tiles were cracked, jagged at the edges. She crouched, lifting her phone to cast a beam of light.

The glow revealed a hole gaping beneath the broken floorboards—and stairs spiraling down into the dark.

“…There,” she whispered, more to herself than the others.

Benio clenched his fists. “So that’s where he went.”

Without hesitation, Miyasi planted her foot on the first step. “Come on. If Kavei’s down there, something must have happened.”

The others exchanged a quick, uneasy glance before following her. With every creaking step, they sank deeper into the unknown, the air growing colder, heavier, as though the house itself was swallowing them whole.

Kavei froze when he spotted something jutting out from between the sacks. Curiosity tugged at him, and he crouched low, easing it free with careful fingers. The object was small, cold against his skin—before he could examine it further, the sound of footsteps echoed down the stairwell.

His chest tightened. He shoved the item into his pocket and rose quickly, fists clenched, ready for whoever was coming.

“Kavei…?”

The voice was soft, uncertain, but familiar.

Kavei blinked, his stance loosening. “Miyasi-nee?”

Relief swept over him when she appeared, flashlight in hand. Her eyes widened. “Kavei! It really is you!” She hurried down the last steps, but the moment she got close, her relief shifted to worry. “Wait—your head. What happened?”

He touched his temple where the blood had dried, forcing a faint smile. “Nothing serious. Just… a scratch.”

Miyasi frowned, clearly unconvinced. “That’s more than a scratch.”

By then, Benio and Saira appeared behind her, their footsteps quickening when they saw him.

“Oh god,” Benio muttered, stepping forward. “You don’t look fine. Are you sure you’re okay?” His gaze flicked from Kavei’s face to the faint stains on his shirt.

“I’ll live,” Kavei said with a shrug. “But… what is this place? One moment I was on the balcony, and the next—” He gestured vaguely around him. “—I ended up here.”

Miyasi glanced toward the cracked ceiling where faint light filtered down. “The balcony, yeah… Makes sense now. I think this was supposed to be some kind of hidden room. You just… found the wrong way in.”

“Figures,” Kavei muttered. He let out a small laugh, dry but genuine. “Trust me to crash through the floor instead of using the stairs.”

Despite herself, Saira chuckled softly. “Only you, Kavei.”

The tension in the room eased just a little, though worry still lingered in their eyes.

Upstairs, the group crouched low, ears tilted toward the faint echoes rising from the stairwell.

“Shh, shh—quiet,” Sebiki hissed, pressing her palm against the wall as if that would help her catch the words better.

“I am quiet,” Himeko whispered back, a little too defensively. “What did you hear? Was that Miyasi-onee?”

Kai leaned closer, eyes narrowed. “Sounds like her… but I can’t make out what they’re saying.”

“They said Kavei-kun’s name,” Sebiki muttered, certain of it. “I heard it clear as day.”

Himeko’s brows shot up. “Wait—Kavei-kun’s down there too? What is this place? Where does it lead to? He went there to check?”

“Or he’s in trouble,” Kai countered, voice low. “That tone wasn’t casual.”

Himeko bit her lip, impatient. “So… do we go down? Or just keep listening like cowards?”

Sebiki gave her a sharp look. “We listen. If we barge in now, we’ll ruin everything.”

“Ugh, you always say that,” Himeko whispered, rolling her eyes. “But what if they find something huge? What if we miss it?”

Ryu cut in firmly, keeping his gaze fixed on the shadows below. “Then we pay attention and let them do the work. We’re not here to rescue—we’re here to outsmart.”

The three of them fell quiet again, ears straining, as the muffled voices from below continued, only Kai remained uncertain. Was it really alright to tail Kavei like this?

“What are these sacks?” Saira’s voice trembled as she pointed toward the heap in the corner. It certainly seemed eerie in a way.

Kavei squinted, stepping closer. “I… haven’t checked yet.” He crouched and brushed a hand against one. His fingers came back tacky. “Feels… sticky.”

He tugged the nearest sack loose, untying the rope with deliberate care.

Benio leaned forward, sniffing the air—and immediately recoiled. “Ugh. What is that smell? It’s—ugh—it’s awful.” He covered his nose with both hands. Saira and Miyasi did the same.

Kavei peeked inside. His eyes darkened. “It’s… blood.”

The words hung heavy. All three of them froze, staring at the pile.

“No… no way,” Saira whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. Blood? The heavy amount of large sacks carried blood in them? This much blood?

Then Miyasi let out a piercing scream. “Aaaaaahhh!!” Her voice ripped through the silence, echoing across the walls. She stumbled backward, dropped to her knees, and pressed trembling hands against her face.

Benio grabbed her shoulders, steadying her. “Miyasi-nee—hey, breathe, it’s okay—”

Saira knelt beside them, holding Miyasi’s arm tightly. “We’re here, it’s fine, you’re safe—”

But Miyasi only sobbed harder, her eyes wide, refusing to look back at the heap.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the others heard the scream and bolted out of the house, exchanging worried looks but not daring to run down.

A few minutes later, Sebiki's eyes caught sight of Benio stepping towards a shop close by as they stood against the wall of the house. He tossed a few coins onto the shopkeeper’s counter, not even caring that he’d overpaid. A while later, the group watched him enter back in, confused and worried.

Benio returned from outside, clutching a bundle of plastic covers. When he reentered, his expression was grim. “Here. Take these.”

Kavei pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly as his head injury reminded him it was still there. He accepted the covers. “Thanks.”

“Wait—what are you doing?” Saira asked nervously as Kavei crouched by the sacks again.

“Checking.” His tone was calm, almost clinical. One by one, he pulled the sacks open, scooping out hardened clumps of dried blood. Each chunk hit the plastic with a dull thud.

“God, Kavei, you’re touching it with your hands? Where did you even get the gloves by the way?” Benio muttered, wincing.

“There’s no other way right now. And, I always carry gloves with me.” Kavei’s voice stayed even, though his jaw was tight. “Blood can be stored for years under controlled conditions, but… this—” He broke off, staring into the bag.

“How long has it really been sitting here?” Saira asked, her voice barely audible.

Kavei didn’t answer. He just kept working. Cover after cover, sack after sack—his hands moved with grim focus until the pile was reduced to labeled packets. Fifty-three of them in total.

When he finally straightened, sweat glistened on his temple. He slipped the samples into his bag that was held by Benio all this while with deliberate care. “These will be analyzed. We’ll get answers.”

Benio guided Miyasi out of the house, her body limp against his shoulder. They sat her down on a chair outside a snack shop. She looked pale, lips trembling as she buried her face in her hands.

Not far behind, hidden in the shadows of the shop’s back wall, Kai, Himeko, Ryu, and Sebiki whispered urgently.

“Oh my god—he’s hurt!” Kai hissed, eyes fixed on Kavei’s head wound. He started forward, but Sebiki’s hand shot out and clamped around his arm.

“Control your emotions,” she warned, low and firm.

Kai grit his teeth, every muscle taut, but he didn’t move. His gaze stayed glued to Kavei.

Benio turned to him at last. “You’re going to send them for testing, right?”

Kavei’s eyes hardened, his voice carrying no hesitation. “Yeah. A blood test. We’ll know the truth soon.”